We've been at least decent there for a long time when you think about it.

Hue Jackson: Browns need to have established QB

Head coach Hue Jackson was not reluctant to admit that one key position continues to be thorny for the Cleveland Browns, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com reports.

"As the years go by here, we want to have an established quarterback," Jackson said Thursday, the last day he spoke with the media before the NFL's annual summer break. "We don't want to have this question where you guys are saying, 'Who is the quarterback?' every year."

It has been an ongoing and well-known issue. The Browns have used 26 different starting quarterbacks since 1999, and have used three different starters in each of the last four seasons. In 2016, five quarterbacks threw passes. As they head toward training camp in late July they have no more clarity on the opening day starter than they did when the offseason program began.

Jackson's lament came as the team's three-day minicamp wound down, at a time when he actually sees positives in other areas. But ...

"I have to continue to solve the quarterback issue because that is where it starts," he said. "Everywhere else, we are really growing. Not that we are not growing at quarterback but just having a guy, and having a guy and saying, 'This is the guy and this guy can run our organization, run our team and play at a high level and help us win.'

"That is always going to be the question all of you will have until we solve it, so I get that. Outside of that, our team is heading in the right direction."

The Browns are looking at three options: Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler and rookie second-round pick DeShone Kizer. Kessler was with the Browns last season and worked with the first team on the last day of practice, but his practices have been inconsistent. Osweiler was a throw-in as the Houston Texans gave the Browns a second-round pick to take him off their hands. He has been a pleasant surprise, but arrived with a low bar.

Kessler has a year in the system and Osweiler has won the most NFL games among the team's quarterbacks. Kizer may be the most intriguing, but he needs to grow. Asked when Kizer might be ready to play, Jackson said: "Not yet."